Change Lives

Thursday, 25 May 2017

To say that since I started SHAK nearly 11 years ago my life has been a bit of a rollercoaster is such an understatement. So much sadness and loss, so many saved. On a personal note it has brought me my own radio show, TV appearances, radio interviews and more. Stuff that always just seems surreal. Nothing, however tops the photo below.....

Sir Cliff Richard perusing the book "It's A Dogs Life" written by yours truly.....

Looks like Eden has definitely become a celebrity up here after making both the front page and page 3 in this week's Northumberland Gazette!

There is also a double spread on the Mayors awards last week, so I'm really sorry for the people who opened their newspaper this morning to be bombarded with my face!

It all comes a's a timely boost having had to day goodbye to my beautiful and brave girl Star on Sunday who battled cancer of the jaw so bravely, and became a big friend of Eden's. She lived with me and my family for over 8 years, and maybe when I'm feeling stronger about it I can tell you her story. At the moment I'm kind of running of automatic.

Star was an incredible girl, the fact she has changed Eden's outlook on life means her legacy will live on, and for that I am very proud of them both.

Monday, 15 May 2017

I'm first to admit that I think I'd reached a little bit of a stalemate with Eden in terms of getting her up and about and moving from that corner.....

So I woke up this morning at just after 6 and decided I was going to try something different. I was going to try and introduce her to some new doggy friends.....

Star and Haden are two of my fosters that have lived with me for years. You'll know the stories of both of them. Haden only has 3 legs and is epileptic, Star has cancer of the mouth. She is so brave. Both are amazing.

Anyway, today I decided they were going to meet Eden. The way our isolation kennel is set up means there is the no man's land between the two gates. My plan, to put my two in there.

When I opened this morning I found for some reason Eden had trashed her bed. I went in to clean her out, and for the first time EVER I saw her leave her corner..... straight over to the other dogs. Of course she then remembered where she was and ran back to her corner! So I let Haden and Star in.....

As you see she responded so much to their actions. Every time I approached the kennel door all 3 got up to greet me. Such an incredible moment.

(Facebook viewers will need to click on the original post to see all the videos and photographs. )

Sunday, 14 May 2017

Although we've reached a bit of a stalemate in getting Eden to trust us enough to come for a walk, it's great to see that she's making more friends, and at least Rich doesn't bore her with doing the rota!

Had some great fun yesterday as we took two boys who are becoming good friends around the back for a run off lead for the first time yesterday.

Bud and Rocco were amazing, and it was great to see them playing together so well.

Rocco

Bud

You may remember that Bud was the stray tied to a lamp post with a horrific haematoma on his ear, his operation has been a huge success and we are still looking for a Forever Foster home for him. Rocco has a fee issues with the lead so therefore would need a specialiseductive home. If your interested in finding out more about either then please email foreverfoster@shak.org.UK

In the meantime I'll leave you with a video of how to get a ball off Rocco!.....

(Please note Facebook viewers will need to click on the post to see all photos and the video.)

Saturday, 6 May 2017

Another little thing that means such a huge step today..... I was able to have a proper cuddle with Eden. Yes I had to pick her up to move her away from the wall she so desperately clings too, but the twenty minutes we shared together was so special. You can see on the video she is still shaking, which shows just how damaged this little soul is, but I'd like to think she enjoyed just a little bit of the affection.....

(Facebook viewers will need to click on the post to see all photos and videos.)

Friday, 5 May 2017

I made a little bit significant progress with Eden yesterday as I wanted her to have her new bed! She let me put the lead on again no problem, and I was then able to coax her into getting up and moving 3 or 4 steps to be able to place the bed where she lies. As soon as I took the lead off she quickly ran back to where she sits. Incredible for as far as we know that's the first time she's EVER walked on a lead.....

Wednesday, 3 May 2017

After a couple of days off it was nice to get back in with Eden this morning, and whilst she didn't run over to the door wagging her tail excites to see me, she did lift her head and licked her lips, a calming signal and one that at least acknowledged I was back.

We quickly got reacquainted and I moved a little closer....

Next I got out the lead, and although she definitely didn't want to go anywhere she let me put it on.....

Whilst it's clear that Eden is still terrified, almost shut down to human interaction I'd say, it's great that she is allowing me to get this close in just 5 days. The mental state she was in when she arrived made me think to get this far would take weeks. She's an amazing girl.....

For
SHAK to survive and continue our good work, we require funds to cover our daily
running costs and to safeguard SHAK’s future.
Fundraising is often a tough task so Legacies form one of the largest proportions
of charitable income; without these funds it is a constant struggle for
charities like us to carry on.

Leaving
a legacy to our charity helps towards not only the day to day running costs,
food, clean bedding, veterinary care, but also their safety and development. You don’t have to leave a large amount to
make a difference. It really does add
up. There are also tax advantages as
giving to charity can reduce any liabilities for Inheritance Tax. As every charity has its own dedicated charity
number it must be used on all legal documents to ensure that your gift is going
to end up at the right place. Always
consult your legal adviser for specialist advice before making your Will or
legacy.

Abandoned,
homeless and mistreated animals totally rely on the love and care of
sanctuaries like us to look after them in their time of need. The extraordinary work of our charity can
only be done with adequate funding which, sadly, is often lacking. Leaving a Will is a wonderful way of helping
to carry on with this caring and much needed work.

Why it’s important to make a Will and
to keep it updated

With an up to date Will you have peace of mind
that the people and causes which matter to you have been looked after the way
you choose. It is the only way to make
sure your wishes are followed the way you intend.

A Will makes it easier for your family and
friends to take care of your estate and be sure they are acting on your
wishes. Without a Will the process can
be difficult, stressful and time consuming.

Write a Will to keep control.

There are
difference types of Legacies:

Residuary

After you have provided for your loved ones,
you can leave a share of what remains to the charity. This is known as a ‘residuary gift’.

Pecuniary

This is when you leave an exact sum of money
to the charity. It’s known as a
‘pecuniary gift’.

Specific

You might choose to leave an item to the
charity, such as a car or a piece of jewellery, which can then be sold to raise
funds.

What if
you have already made a Will?

If you have already made a Will it’s simple to
make changes to it. You can either add a
supplement to your existing Will called a codicil, or if the changes are quite
substantial it may be better to make a new Will. Either way, we would always recommend that
you consult a solicitor or legal advisor.

SHAK (Safe
Homes and Kindness) receives no government funding and depends entirely on the
generosity of the public.

What we do

Celebrating our 10th anniversary on
June 19th 2016 SHAK has come a long way since its founder Stephen
Wylie uttered those fateful words ‘never again…’ after the shock death of his
dog and best friend Shak.

The hundreds of dogs whose lives have been
changed because of that loss is a testament to a dog that had a lasting imprint
on everyone he met…

Today the registered charity has approximately
seventy-five dogs in its care, offering sanctuary to the ones that really need
it or a place to simply become a dog again for others.

Working only with destruction cases from vets,
strays and dogs from our trusted charity partners, SHAK does not take in dogs
from members of the public. Likewise we
are not a rehoming centre, although we do offer the opportunity for people to
apply for our Forever Foster scheme.

We concentrate all of our time, energy and
resources directly into the wellbeing of our dogs, enriching lives that others
had written off….

IMPORTANT STATEMENT APRIL 2018

A Statement From SHAK.....

One of the drawbacks of gaining followers through Facebook, the press and other forms of media is the demand for our expertise is growing beyond a level that is manageable or even acceptable. We are a victim of our own success and with constantly running with around 70 dogs in our care, being such a small charity we are always stretched beyond our limit.

Therefore I think it is important for me to explain exactly where we get our dogs from and who we will deal with. For the past 12 years we have dealt very closely with vets taking destruction cases, local councils taking strays and a few recognised partnered charities that we have built up strong relationships with. Today this is still the case.

As I mentioned space and resources are very short resulting us being unable to take dogs from members of the public and due to time we are ubable to deal with the publuc in any way. Likewise we are not looking to extend our pool of partnered charities or organisations, so can not take dogs from groups we have never worked with before.

It is not out of ignorance, but due to concentrating our time on our own dogs that no unsolicited emails, phonecalls or Facebook messages will be returned.

Thank you for understanding and for all of your support.

Who We Are.....

Stephen Wylie and one of the SHAK dogs Donnie.

And What We Do.....

Celebrating its 10th anniversary on June 19th 2016, SHAK has come a long way since its founder Stephen Wylie uttered those fateful words ‘never again...’ after the shock death of his dog and best friend Shak.

The hundreds of dogs whose lives have been changed because of that loss is testament to a dog that had a lasting imprint on everyone he met.....

Today the registered charity has approximately 70 dogs inits care, offering sanctuary to the ones that really need it or a place to simply become a dog again for others.

Working only with destruction cases from vets, strays anddogs from our trusted charity partners, SHAK does not take in dogs from members of the public. Likewise we are not a rehoming centre, although we do offer the opportunity for people to apply for our Forever Foster project.

We concentrate all of our time, energy and resources directly into the well being of our dogs, enriching lives that others had written off.....

Keep Calm

Ways You Can Donate.....

We are delighted to announce our new partnership with Vodafone, and provide a simple and effective way of you to help us "Save Even More Dogs On Death Row."

Simply text SHAK01 £10 to 70070 to donate to Shak (Safe Homes And Kindness) and make a difference today. You can donate any amount upto £10 by simply changing the amount in the text, and the best thing is we get EVERY penny.

Thanks in advance for your support.

"It's A Dogs Life....."

A Blog page to show all the work that goes on behind the scenes at SHAK.

A brief insight into how our dogs get here, and what they do when they get here…..

(Please note, all opinions and views on here are exactly that, OUR opinions and views ony.)